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Thorburn: Luck may have turned in Mike Bohn's favor with Mike MacIntyre hire

By Ryan Thorburn Buffzone.com

Posted:
12/16/2012 05:06:36 PM MST

Updated:
12/16/2012 08:32:10 PM MST

Ryan Thorburn, Camera Sports Writer
(
PAUL AIKEN
)

The third time might have been the charm for Mike Bohn.

Colorado's athletic director caught at least two lucky breaks during his most recent search for a new football coach.

1. Butch Jones decided to pass on CU's offer and accepted the challenge of making Tennessee relevant in the SEC again.

Jones had a solid track record at Central Michigan and Cincinnati, where his teams won or shared four championships in the MAC and Big East during his six seasons as a head coach. But he followed Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly at both stops and has never had to rebuild a program from the rubble.

After interviewing for the CU position, Bohn's No. 1 candidate hid from the media behind a food cart and quickly Volunteered elsewhere.

"It has been very interesting. Unfortunately, I just think that's the nature of intercollegiate athletics today," Bohn said of coming up short in the high-stakes saga with Jones. "There's a lot of challenges, twists and turns that are not traditional from previous years."

All is well that ends well. Mike MacIntyre is a proven builder and West Coast recruiter who won't hide from the daunting challenge of getting CU back into the big business of winning football games.

"When you go somewhere, always there are people who say, 'Oh, we don't do it that way,' or 'We can't do it.' There are always excuses made," MacIntyre said at his introductory press conference. "You can't listen to excuses. My slogan is: 'No excuses, no regrets.' Find a way."

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2. Cal decided to ignore the 10-win season by the little brothers down the road at San Jose State.

According to San Jose Mercury News columnist Jon Wilner, Cal's decision had more to do with the institution MacIntyre was coaching at and not the incredible rebuilding job he did in the Bay Area.

"The Bears were never, ever, ever going to hire a head coach from a Cal State school, not even if that coach was a 40-year-old Bill Walsh," Wilner wrote.

The turn of events in the coaching carousel will make it interesting to follow the Vols from afar and creates an intriguing new Pac-12 rivalry between Cal and CU over the next five years.

Jones will already get to enjoy lavish facilities in Knoxville, Tenn., and inherits a better situation than his predecessor, Derek Dooley, walked into after the one-and-done Lane Kiffin debacle. However, Tennessee finished 1-7 in the SEC's East Division behind Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Vanderbilt and Missouri.

"I don't know about legacy, but I think this: My No. 1 priority is to get football healthy. I've never wavered from that," Tennessee athletic director Dave Hart, who will be tied to the Jones hire as Bohn will to the MacIntyre hire, told the Knoxville News Sentinel. "The reason that's a top priority, beyond the obvious, is that football is the economic engine. But it's more than that. What happens at Neyland Stadium affects everybody. It affects everybody on our campus, it affects people in our local market, if affects people in Tennessee and alumni everywhere. It's the center of our collective pride nerve.

"If we're running a clean, successful program, everybody benefits. Everybody. Monday mornings are better. People's dispositions are better. People work together better. It's not an exaggeration."

The Bears, coming off a 3-9 season (2-7 in the Pac-12), will visit Boulder next season. In their final games in the WAC, MacIntyre's Spartans defeated Dykes' Bulldogs 52-43 on Nov. 23 in San Jose.

Lappe is legit

Tad Boyle gets most of the headlines and enjoys the sellout crowds at the Coors Events Center, but Linda Lappe has also done a remarkable job with the women's basketball program.

CU's 70-66 victory over No. 8 Louisville on Friday night was the program's first win over a top-10 team since the Buffs' upset No. 5 Stanford in the 2002 NCAA Tournament to reach the Elite Eight.

Lappe was a junior on Ceal Barry's memorable team that season.

At 9-0, Lappe's 2012-13 Buffs should climb into the polls Monday and are on track to return to the Big Dance for the first time in nine years.

It looks like Boyle's team will have a chance to redeem itself against another top-10 team on the road. No. 8 Arizona will continue to climb in the polls after an impressive 65-64 victory over No. 5 Florida on Saturday night in Tucson.

The Buffs (8-2) -- who were blown out 90-54 at then-No. 9 Kansas on Dec. 8 -- open the Pac-12 season at Arizona on Jan. 3.

CU lost in Tucson last season but beat the Wildcats in Boulder and in the Pac-12 Tournament championship game.

"When Arizona wins a big (non-conference) game, it helps Colorado," Boyle said at the Pac-12 media day before the season.

On Sunday, CBSSports.com had CU at No. 4 and Arizona at No. 5 in its RPI rankings.

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